Transcript Chapter 5-Religion

APHG
Spring 2013
The Geographer’s Slant –
not Theology
• Understand the distribution of major religions.
• Explain variations in diffusion of religions.
• Discuss distinctive religious imprints on
physical landscape/environment
• Identify conflicts between followers of different
religions.
• Understand that religion lies at the heart of
many global controversies (ME, Ireland, S.
Asia, parts of Africa, etc.)
• No conversion here!
Understanding the
Terminology of Religion
• Branch
– A large and fundamental division within a religion
• Denomination
– A division of a branch that unites a number of local
congregations.
• Sect
– A relatively small group that has broken away from
an established domination.
Where are Religions Distributed?
Two Types
• Universalizing religions
– Seek to appeal to all people
• Ethnic religions
– Appeal to a smaller group of people living
in one place
• Universalizing religions
– Attempts to be global, appeal to all people
• 60% of the world’s population
– Christianity
• The largest world religion (about 2 billion adherents)
– Most widespread distribution
– Many adherents in Europe, the Americas
• Three major branches
– Roman Catholicism (51 percent)
– Protestant Christianity (24 percent)
– Eastern Orthodox (11 percent)
» Other, smaller branches of Christianity
comprise 14 percent of all Christians
• Universalizing religions
– Islam
• The second-largest world religion (about 1.3
billion adherents)
– Significant clusters in the Middle East, North
Africa, and South Asia
– Half of the world’s Muslims live in four
countries outside of the Middle East.
• Core of Islamic belief = the five pillars
• Two significant branches
– Sunnis (83 percent)
– Shias or Shiites (16 percent)
• Universalizing religions
– Buddhism
• About 400 million adherents (difficult to quantify)
– Significant clusters in China, Southeast Asia
• The Four Noble Truths
• Three branches
– Mahayana (China, Japan, Korea)
– Theravada (Southeast Asia)
– Tantrayana (Tibet, Mongolia)
- Sikhism
- Baha'i
• Ethnic religions
– Appeals to a group of people living in one place
– 25% of world’s population
Hinduism
- 900 million
- world’s third largest religion
- 97% live in India, 2% live in Nepal
-Many paths to spirituality
– Other ethnic religions
• Confucianism (China) - actually a way of thinking
• Daoism (China)
• Shinto (Japan)
• Judaism (today: the United States, Israel)
– The first monotheistic religion
• Ethnic African religions - Animism
Hinduism
Buddhism
World Distribution of Religions
World religions by continent.
Christian Branches in the U.S.
Distribution of Christians in the U.S. Shaded areas are counties with more
than 50% of church membership concentrated in Roman Catholicism or
one of the Protestant denominations.
World Population by Religion
Over two-thirds of the world’s population belong to Christianity
Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism. Christianity is the single largest
world religion.
Why Do Religions Have Different
Distributions?
• Origin of religions
– Universalizing: precise origins, tied to a
specific founder
• Christianity
– Founder: Jesus
• Islam
– Prophet of Islam: Muhammad
• Buddhism
– Founder: Siddhartha Gautama
– Holidays based on events in founder’s life.
• Origin of religions
– Ethnic: unclear or unknown origins, not tied to a
specific founder
• Hinduism
– No clear founder
– Earliest use of Hinduism = sixth century B.C.E
– Archaeological evidence dating from 2500 B.C.E
– Followers highly clustered
– Holidays based on local climate and agricultural
calendar.
• Diffusion of religions
– Universalizing religions – known origin –
clear patterns of diffusion.
• Christianity
– Diffuses via relocation and expansion
diffusion
• Islam
– Diffuses to North Africa, South and
Southeast Asia
– Relocation diffusion
• Buddhism
– Slow diffusion from the core
Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Each of the three main universalizing religions diffused widely from its
hearth.
Diffusion of Christianity
Christianity diffused from Palestine through the Roman Empire and
continued diffusing through Europe after the fall of Rome. It was later
replaced by Islam in much of the Mideast and North Africa.
Diffusion of Islam
Islam diffused rapidly and widely from its area of origin in Arabia.
It eventually stretched from southeast Asia to West Africa.
Diffusion of Buddhism
Buddhism diffused gradually from its origin in northeastern India to
Sri Lanka, southeast Asia, and eventually China and Japan.
Diffusion of Religions
http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html
animated
• Limited diffusion of ethnic religions
– Universal religions usually compete with
ethnic religions
– Examples of mingling:
• Christianity with African ethnic religions
• Buddhism with Confucianism in China and with
Shinto in Japan
– Ethnic religions can diffuse with migration
– Judaism = exception
Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan
Since Japanese can be both Shinto and Buddhist, there are many
areas in Japan where over two-thirds of the population are both
Shinto and Buddhist.
• Holy places
– In universalizing religions
• Christian Churches, Jerusalem
• Buddhist shrines
• Holy places in Islam = associated with the life
of Muhammad (Mecca)
– In ethnic religions
• Holy places in Hinduism = closely tied to the
physical geography of India
• Cosmogony in ethnic religions
Holy Places in Christianity
Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem contains holy sites for Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mR2W43t6tI
Makkah, Islam’s Holiest City
http://video.nationalgeograp
hic.com/video/player/places/
culture-places/beliefs-andtraditions/saudiarabia_mecc
a.html
Makkah (Mecca) is the holiest city in Islam and is the site of
pilgrimage for millions of Muslims each year. There are numerous
holy sites in the city.
Holy Sites in Buddhism
Most holy sites in Buddhism are locations of important events in
Buddha’s life and are clustered in northeastern India and southern
Nepal.
Hindu Holy Places
Hierarchy of Hindu
holy places: Some
sites are holy to
Hindus throughout
India; others have a
regional or sectarian
importance, or are
important only locally.
• The calendar
– In ethnic religions = celebration of the
seasons
• Distinctive physical geography of the
homeland.
• The Jewish calendar
• The solstice
– In universalizing religions = celebration of
the founder’s life
Why Do Religions Organize
Space in Distinctive Patterns?
• Three aspects of the
religious landscape
– Places of worship
– Selection of sacred places
– places in the physical
environment considered
holy;
– Different approaches to
administration of religious
space adopted by different
religions.
Why Do Religions Organize Space
in Distinctive Patterns?
• Places of worship
– Many types:
• Christian churches,
• Muslim mosques,
• Hindu temples,
• Buddhist and
Shinto pagodas,
• Bahá’í houses of
worship
• Sacred space
– Disposing of the
dead
• Burial
• Other ways of disposing
of the dead
– Religious
settlements
(examples?)
– Religious place
names
Salt Lake City, Utah
The Indian city of Varanasi,
also known as Benares, is
one of the sacred places of
worship for followers of
Hinduism
Religious Toponyms
Place names in Québec show the impact of religion on the
landscape. Many cities and towns are named after saints.
• Administration of space
– Hierarchical religions
• Latter-day Saints
• Roman Catholics
– Locally autonomous religions
• Islam
• Protestant denominations
Roman Catholic Hierarchy in U.S.
The Catholic Church divides the U.S. into provinces headed by
archbishops. Provinces are divided into dioceses, headed by bishops.
Religions of the United States
Why Do Territorial Conflicts
Arise?
• Religions versus government
policies
– Religion versus social change
• Taliban and Western values
• Hinduism and social inequality
– Caste system
– Religion versus communism
• Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam in the former
Soviet Union
• Buddhism in Southeast Asia
• Religion versus religion
– Fundamentalism
– Religious wars in Ireland
– Religious wars in the Middle East
• Crusades (Christians in Muslim lands)
• Jews and Muslims in Palestine
Religious Conflict
• Religion vs. Government Policies –
The role of religion in organizing Earth’s surface has diminished in
some societies. In recent years religious principles have become
important in the political organizations of countries, especially where a
branch of Christianity or Islam is the prevailing religion. (Examples ???)
• Religion vs. Social Change –
Participation in the global economy and culture can expose local
residents to values and beliefs originating in more developed countries.
(Examples ???)
Hinduism vs. Social Equality
The Indian government legally abolished the untouchable caste,
and the people formerly in that caste now have equal rights with
other Indians.
Taliban Vs. Western Values
Religious Conflict
Religion vs. CommunismOrganized religion was challenged in the 20th century
by the rise of communism in Eastern Europe and
Asia.
Buddhism vs. Southeast Asian Countries
Buddhists were hurt by the long Vietnam War. The
current Communist governments in Southeast Asia
have discouraged religious activities and permitted
monuments to decay.
Religious Conflict
Religious Wars in Ireland
•The Republic of Ireland, is 92% Roman Catholic, but the island’s
northern 1/6, which is part of the United Kingdom rather than
Ireland, is about 58% Protestant and 42% Roman Catholic.
• When most of Ireland became independent, a majority in six
northern counties voted to remain in the United Kingdom.
Demonstrations by Roman Catholics protesting discrimination
began in 1968. A small number of Roman Catholics in both
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland joined the IRA, a
militant organization dedicated to achieving Irish national unity
by whatever means available, including violence. As long as
most Protestants are committed to remaining in the United
Kingdom and most Catholics are committed to union with the
Republic of Ireland, peaceful settlements appear difficult.
Distribution of Protestants in
Ireland
Distribution of Protestants in Ireland,
1911. When Ireland became
independent in 1937, 26 northern
districts with large Protestant
populations chose to remain part of
the United Kingdom.
Republic of Ireland today is
87percent Roman Catholic. Northern
Ireland has a Protestant majority.
Boundary does not coincide with the
international border. There are some
communities that are predominately
Roman Catholic in Northern Ireland
today and that is the root of the
religious conflict.
Religious Conflict
Religious Wars in the Middle East
•Jews, Christians, and Muslims have fought for 2000 years.
• All three religions have strong attachments to Jerusalem.
• Jerusalem is especially holy to the Jews because it was the
location of the Temple, their center of worship in ancient times.
• Christians consider Palestine the Holy Land and Jerusalem
the Holy City because the major events in Jesus’ life, death, and
Resurrection. • Muslims regard Jerusalem the third holiest city.
• The Dome of the Rock is thought to be the place from which
Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Jews vs. Muslims in Palestine
Conflict over the Holy Land: Palestinian Perspectives
Conflict over the Holy Land: Israeli Perspectives
http://vimeo.com/50531435
Jerusalem
Boundary Changes in Palestine/Israel
The UN partition plan for Palestine in 1947 contrasted with the
boundaries that were established after the 1948–49 War. Major
changes later resulted from the 1967 War.
The West Bank:
Political and Physical Geography
Political control of the West Bank has been split between Palestinians
and Israelis (though under overall Israeli control). The West Bank
includes many of the higher altitude areas of the region.
Israel’s Security Zone in Lebanon
Israel established a security zone in southern Lebanon in 1982. When
Israel withdrew in 2000, the UN helped draw the boundary between
the countries.
Israel’s “Separation Fence”